Brief History of Parent Association 2005 to 2015.

In April 2005 Firies National School established its first Parents’ Association.

Parents are valued partners in Education. Our Parents’ Association is an excellent support to our school. In November 2005 they introduced a Book Fair which was a great success.

This enabled the school to purchase books to the value of €1,070 for the school libraries. Their 1st Cake Sale was held in June 2005.

In 2006 /07 the Parents’ Association worked with the Board of Management applying for our school extension and helped with reviewing school policies. Having organised the annual Book Fair they raised €1,106.62 worth of books and resources were added to the classroom libraries. Old mobile phones were collected as a fundraising campaign. The Cake Sale was a great success again this year. Organising a Communion Party proved to be a highlight in the community calendar. The parents assisted with Policy development, support and consultation. They were an invaluable support assisting with the application for a new school extension. With fundraising it allowed the purchase of 2 printers for 5th & 6th class, 2 bird tables, 2 garden benches and play equipment.

In 2007/08 school year the Parents’ Association again held a Book Fair in the school.

The children were delighted to wear their school basketball jerseys for their competitions bought by the Parents’ Association. The over-head projector is a valuable teaching and learning tool. The children enjoy being able to do and see their work in a more enhanced way. Children have been able to observe our native birds from the bird tables using their binoculars. The Parents’ Association also contributed to the Dublin Media Awards Trip. They continue to organise the Annual Book Fair (which gave €1,844 worth of books to the school libraries), a Cake Sale and Communion Party. Their advice has been invaluable in relation to policy development again this year.

The school year 2008/09 began with the annual Book Fair which gave €1,695 worth of books for the school libraries. This year their achievements continued to grow with the introduction of a Christmas Raffle held at the Christmas Concert, a fundraiser involving a cookery demonstration with Local Chef Mark Doe. They hosted an Anti-bullying lecture with Dr. Brendan Byrne. The Communion Party and Cake Sale were also a great success.

In 2009/10 the annual Book Fair gave €1,129.15 worth of books for our school libraries.

The annual Communion Party and Cake Sale were both a great success. Having fundraised the Parents’ Association, were able to purchase school furniture for the new extension to the value of €1,285.92. The school garden benefited from new garden equipment, gardening book, shovels and forks, a complete garden design from Gortbrack Tralee, and kids gardening gloves, total value of €489.45. A guided reading scheme called ‘Storyworld’ was purchased for €1,500 which has proven a huge benefit to the school over the years. 3 desktop computers €609, additional reading zone scheme books €400. The children enjoyed a ‘Green Flag’ Party. The parents again assisted with School Policy development, support and consultation.

In 2010/11 the school year began for the Parents’ Association with their annual Book Fair raising €1,223.59 worth of books for the school libraries. Additional school garden purchases of €168.14 were made. They organised a visit from Knockreer House for Science Week.

A contribution of €350 was given and pupils had great fun at the cycling training course organised by the school and the Parents’ Association. The Communion Party and Cake Sale were held again this year.

The school year of 2011/12 saw the purchase of giant Jenga Blocks €635.42 bought by the Parents’ Association, which have seen many hours of fun! The annual Book Fair raised €1,413.40 worth of books for our school libraries and classroom resources. 5th & 6th classes took part in swimming lessons and the Parents’ Association paid for the bus for the 6 weeks. They also paid for the writer/illustrator Ian Jackson to visit the school and do workshops with the children. In February, the Parents organised all the catering for the retirement of Dermot Kelly.

In 2012/13 the annual Book Fair raised €1,432.92 worth of library books and school resources. They fundraised with a ‘Black Bag’ collection in September. The Communion Party and Cake Sale were a great success. Having fundraised they purchased €356 worth of Nexus whiteboard markers and an interactive whiteboard worth €2,065 for the new school extension. We had a visit from Knockreer House again this year. The Parents’ Association also purchased 6th Class Graduation Certificates. In June, the Parents organised all the catering for the Opening of our new school extensions.

In 2013/14 with the help from the Parents’ Association we were able to attend swimming lessons in Killarney, the cost of the bus was covered by them. 3 Laptop €1,197 were purchased for classrooms and an interactive whiteboard bulb €285. Fundraising this year was Christmas Concert raffle, One Direction Concert ticket raffle, Black Bag collection & Cake Sale. They also held an Easter Bonnet/Garden Creation Competition, which was a wonderful success. The Communion Party was a lovely event for the pupils, families and the community again this year.

In 2014/15 the Parents’ Association organised a Christmas hamper raffle for each class, a Black Bag collection as a fundraiser, the Christmas Raffle during the school Christmas concerts, and the Birthday Party Club. The annual Book Fair was held in October and raised €1,502.00 worth of school books and resources for our school libraries. Many thanks to the Parents’ Association who worked with Kerry County Council and Local Councilors to extend the footpath in front of the school. The safety of the children has been dramatically improved.

The communion Party was held again this year.

As a special treat was organised for the day of the holidays when an Ice-Cream Van called to the school and gave an ice-cream to all the pupils & staff.

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Firies National School

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